Leclerc takes a shock pole in Mexico in a Ferrari 1-2, Verstappen P3

Max Verstappen could only qualify in P3, and he will also be investigated after the session after he was noted by the stewards for impeding in the pitlane.

Ferrari's find fantastic pace to defeat Verstappen

After a Q2 in which Sainz almost lost out, both Prancing Horse cars were able to find some speed in the final session to take the pole away from Verstappen.

Verstappen, along with George Russell in P7, will be investigated after qualifying for impeding in the pitlane in Q1, something that the Dutchman got away with in Singapore.

As well as this, Lewis Hamilton in P6 will also be investigated by the stewards after the session for not slowing under yellow flags in Q1 after Fernando Alonso spun. The resulting yellow flags meant the McLaren of Lando Norris missed out, only qualifying in 19th.

It was also a brilliant day for Daniel Ricciardo, who was able to put his AlphaTauri in P4 with a superb display.

Result - P1 Leclerc, P2 Sainz, P3 Verstappen, P4 Ricciardo, P5 Perez, P6 Hamilton, P7 Piastri, P8 Russell, P9 Bottas, P10 Zhou

Q1

Qualifying started with Verstappen topping the timesheets, as he did in FP3 earlier in the day, with Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas finding fantastic laps to launch them up into the top five.

At the bottom of the timing sheets, it was a lot more complex. With just thirty seconds left in the first session, Alonso spun in the first sector, meaning the yellow flags were brought out, and many drivers had to abandon their laps.

One of the drivers who was caught out by this was the McLaren of Norris, who had to abandon his lap because of the yellow flag, meaning the young Brit came 19th as the chequered flag fell. Esteban Ocon also fell foul of Alonso's spin, as he could only come P16.

Lance Stroll's misery continued, as he was one of the few drivers who got a final lap in, but he could only go into 18th. Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant joined the Canadian in being knocked out in Q1.

Out - P16 Ocon, P17 Magnussen, P18 Stroll, P19 Norris, P20 Sargeant

Q2

Alex Albon, who set the second-fastest times in both FP1 and FP3, could not make it into Q3 after he had his lap time deleted after Q2 ended, cutting the turn two corner and missing out on the top-ten shootout.

Ricciardo made it into Q3 with some more brilliant pace shown, with his teammate unable to do so, although Yuki Tsunoda will start Sunday from the back of the grid after changing his engine before the race weekend.

Carlos Sainz was on the cusp of being eliminated, as he could only set the ninth-fastest time, but he managed to survive, along with both Alfa Romeo.

The Alpine of Pierre Gasly could not find the extra pace needed, as he just missed out in P11, and Alonso also struggled to find the speed he showed at the beginning of the season.

Out - P11 Gasly, P12 Hulkenberg, P13 Alonso, P14 Albon, P15 Tsunoda